Ben & Jerry
Co-founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc.
Exclusive Representation by Greater Talent Network
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are the men behind one of the most talked-about and least conventional success stories in American business: Founders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., they built a store-front venture into a $300 million ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management strengths instead of weaknesses.
Childhood friends who went separate ways after high school, the two reunited in 1977 to fulfill a dream they both shared: running a food business. They eventually settled on ice cream, and one year later, after a bit of research (and a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making), they opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream parlor in Burlington, Vt.
The duo soon became known throughout Vermont for rich, unusual flavors and a community-oriented approach to business. They sponsored a "Fall Down Festival" and a free outdoor movie festival, and celebrated their anniversaries with a Free Cone Day. As the company grew, Ben's jobs included scooper and taste-tester, truck driver, marketing director, salesperson and president. Jerry began by making all the ice cream, but as the company expanded into new markets he soon found himself handling everything from distribution to orientation to employee motivation.
With their best-selling "Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: Lead with Your Values and Make Money, Too," they created a nuts-and-bolts guidebook to the promise and pitfalls of "values-led" business, as well as an inspiring wake-up call about the growing international influence of the "socially conscience" or "mission driven" corporation.
Today a model for American business success, Ben and Jerry have been recognized for fostering commitment to social responsibility by the Council on Economic Priorities, which awarded them the Corporate Giving Award in 1988 (for donating 7.5 percent of pre-tax profits to non-profit organizations); and by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which named them U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year in 1988 in a White House ceremony hosted by President Reagan.
Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, Ben and Jerry's presentation is a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes and radical business philosophy-and comes complete with servings of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the entire audience.
AT A GLANCE: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were born in Brooklyn, N.Y., just four calendar days apart. They met during junior high and remained close through their years at Calhoun High.
Following graduation, the two friends kept in touch while pursuing separate careers. Ben attended Colgate University and Skidmore College but consistently found himself drawn to a less "traditional" jobs as a Pinkerton guard at Saratoga Raceway, night mopper at Jamesway and Friendly's, cab driver, emergency room clerk and, most prophetically, "ice cream man" (complete with his own truck). Meanwhile, Jerry graduated from Oberlin College intending to enter medicine, but two medical school rejections led him to an unfulfilling job as a lab technician in New York City.
Settling on an ice cream business proved to be the winning formula. Ben and Jerry since have been named James Beard Humanitarians of the Year and the Peace Museum's Community Peacemakers of the Year.
Interested in booking Ben & Jerry to speak at your next event?
Childhood friends who went separate ways after high school, the two reunited in 1977 to fulfill a dream they both shared: running a food business. They eventually settled on ice cream, and one year later, after a bit of research (and a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making), they opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream parlor in Burlington, Vt.
The duo soon became known throughout Vermont for rich, unusual flavors and a community-oriented approach to business. They sponsored a "Fall Down Festival" and a free outdoor movie festival, and celebrated their anniversaries with a Free Cone Day. As the company grew, Ben's jobs included scooper and taste-tester, truck driver, marketing director, salesperson and president. Jerry began by making all the ice cream, but as the company expanded into new markets he soon found himself handling everything from distribution to orientation to employee motivation.
With their best-selling "Ben & Jerry's Double-Dip: Lead with Your Values and Make Money, Too," they created a nuts-and-bolts guidebook to the promise and pitfalls of "values-led" business, as well as an inspiring wake-up call about the growing international influence of the "socially conscience" or "mission driven" corporation.
Today a model for American business success, Ben and Jerry have been recognized for fostering commitment to social responsibility by the Council on Economic Priorities, which awarded them the Corporate Giving Award in 1988 (for donating 7.5 percent of pre-tax profits to non-profit organizations); and by the U.S. Small Business Administration, which named them U.S. Small Business Persons of the Year in 1988 in a White House ceremony hosted by President Reagan.
Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, Ben and Jerry's presentation is a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes and radical business philosophy-and comes complete with servings of Ben & Jerry's ice cream for the entire audience.
AT A GLANCE: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were born in Brooklyn, N.Y., just four calendar days apart. They met during junior high and remained close through their years at Calhoun High.
Following graduation, the two friends kept in touch while pursuing separate careers. Ben attended Colgate University and Skidmore College but consistently found himself drawn to a less "traditional" jobs as a Pinkerton guard at Saratoga Raceway, night mopper at Jamesway and Friendly's, cab driver, emergency room clerk and, most prophetically, "ice cream man" (complete with his own truck). Meanwhile, Jerry graduated from Oberlin College intending to enter medicine, but two medical school rejections led him to an unfulfilling job as a lab technician in New York City.
Settling on an ice cream business proved to be the winning formula. Ben and Jerry since have been named James Beard Humanitarians of the Year and the Peace Museum's Community Peacemakers of the Year.
Interested in booking Ben & Jerry to speak at your next event?
Contact Greater Talent Network,
America's Leading Celebrity Speakers Bureau.
212.645.4200
info@greatertalent.com
- An Evening of Entrepreneurial Spirit, Social Responsibility and Radical Business Philosophy
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